Danko Bakarčić

Dental trauma in children and young adults visiting a University Dental Clinic

The aim of the study was to present the distribution of traumatic dental injuries in the permanent anterior teeth in 447 consecutively selected patients in the age interval of 6 to 25 years treated at the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the University Dental Clinic in Rijeka, Croatia, in the period from 2001 to 2006. Data on age, gender, number of injured teeth and type of injury were taken from the dental records. Of all 447 consecutively selected patients with traumatic dental injury 56.2% were boys and 43.8% were girls with a male/female ratio 1.28:1 (P < 0.01). The highest frequency of tooth injuries occurred among 10- to 13-years-old children. Among 30.6% of the cases, two or more teeth were injured (38.6% in boys and 21.4% in girls). Traumatic injuries affecting teeth in the upper jaw were more frequent (P < 0.001). The most commonly affected teeth were the maxillary central incisors (42.4% of right central incisors and 38% of left central incisors). The most frequent injury was enamel and dentin fracture without pulpal involvement (38.7%). In conclusion, more attention should be paid to preventive measures.

Postupci prve pomoći u hitnom zbrinjavanju ozljeda zuba – znanje među učiteljima u gradu Rijeci, Hrvatska

The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude regarding emergency treatment of dental trauma among elementary school teachers in the city of Rijeka, Croatia. A total of 144 teachers answered a four-part questionnaire which comprised questions regarding demographic data, role and responsibility at the working place, knowledge about dental trauma, and motivation for further education on the topic. Nearly half of the participants (47.2%) reported having seen at least one dental trauma in their professional careers. They chose to contact the child’s parent first (54.1%) and only 11.1% chose to contact a dentist instead. The majority of teachers (81.9%) were not aware of the meaning of the term avulsio dentis. As to treatment of avulsed tooth, 17.3% of teachers knew the appropriate management, while 14% of them would not even touch it. With regard to transport of avulsed tooth or fractured tooth fragments, only 2% responded correctly. The majority of the responders (87.5%) had never been educated about dental trauma, but were willing to be informed through lectures (53.4%), basic life support courses (15.2%) and brochures (9.7%). Planning teachers’ education through advanced training on the topic is suggested to be part of teachers’ lifetime education.

Guidelines for teeth fluoridation with respect to fluoride concentration in Primorsko-goranska county

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the fluoride concentration in drinking water in the Primorsko-goranska county (PGC) and to provide the guidelines for teeth fluoridation of respective area. Methods: Data on the fluoride concentration in drinking water in the PGC were examined by the Department of Environmental Health of the Teaching Institute of Public Health in Primorsko-goranska county. The fluoride concentration in the drinking water was measured by using ion chromatography technique. Public water supply in PGC is organized through 9 particular water supply systems. A high percentage of 96% of the population is connected to the public water supply, which is considerably higher than 74% representing the average estimation for the total country. Results: The average concentration of fluoride in the main water sources of the PGC was assessed for a 5-year period (2007-2011: Rijeka 0.010 mg F-/l, Opatija 0.020 mg F-/l, Crikvenica - Novi Vinodolski (CR-NV) 0.007 mg F-/l, Delnice 0.029 mg F-/l, Vrbovsko 0.038 mg F-/l, Cabar 0.031 mg F-/l, Krk 0.044 mg F-/l, Cres – Losinj (CR-LO) 0.054 mg F-/l, Rab 0.090 mg F-/l. PGC public water supply systems do not include artificial fluoridation of the drinking water. Concentration of fluorides in the drinking water is considered low and ranges from the detected limit of <0.002 mg F-/l in Opatija to 0.220 mg F-/l in Rab, representing the overall average value of 0.034 mg F-/l. Conclusion: Considering the amount of fluorides in the drinking water, teeth fluoridation can be safely accomplished by individually adjusted doses of other fluoride agents.

Disanje na usta kao uzrok orofacijalnih anomalija

Covjek dise na usta kada nije u mogucnosti disati na nos. Najcesci razlog je opstrukcijea nosa ili gornjih disnih putova koja može biti uzrokovana upalom sluznice nosa, kronicnom infekcijom, alergijom ili mehanickom opstrukcijom. Utjecaj nazorespiratorne opstrukcije na ortodontski status i facijalni rast je kontroverzna tema o kojoj se raspravlja dugi niz godina. S obzirom da su ova stanja cesta u djecjoj dobi, tj. za vrijeme intenzivnog rasta i razvoja, promjene koje nastaju izmjenom obrasca disanja (od normalnog disanja na nos prema disanju na usta) utjecu i na razvoj orofacijalne regije. To su dokazala mnoga istraživanja, u kojima su uocene promjene u pojavnosti malokluzija Angle klase II, zagriza u frontalnom i lateralnom dijelu zubnog niza, te nesrazmjera u rastu gornje i donje celjusti. Analizom pregledane literature može se uociti da se opstrukcija disanja na nos adenoidom ili tonzilama javlja kod velikog broja ispitanika. Velika vecina orofacijalnih anomalija javlja se zbog nemogucnosti disanja na nos uslijed opstrukcije adenoidom U slucajevima otklanjanja smetnji koje su uzrokovane hipertrofijom tonzila i adenoida (tonzilektomijom i/ili adenotomijom), uoceno je smanjenje intenziteta prisutne anomalije te ponovno uspostavljanje disanja na usta. Suradnjom pedijatara, otorinolaringologa, alergologa i lijecnika dentalne medicine djecjeg stomatologa i ortodonta, pravovremenim uocavanjem i odstranjivanjem povecanih nepcanih tonzila i adenoida, te ranom ortodontskom terapijom, moguce je obrazac nepravilnog rasta vratiti na normalu temeljem ponovnog uspostavljanja disanja na nos.